Tuscarawas voters cast ballots early

When the Tuscarawas County Board of Elections office at the courthouse in New Philadelphia opened at 8 a.m. Tuesday, 15 people were standing in line at the door, waiting to vote on the first day of early voting in Ohio.

Times Reporter

Writer

Posted Oct. 3, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Oct 3, 2012 at 3:01 AM

Posted Oct. 3, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Oct 3, 2012 at 3:01 AM

NEW PHILADELPHIA

When the Tuscarawas County Board of Elections office at the courthouse in New Philadelphia opened at 8 a.m. Tuesday, 15 people were standing in line at the door, waiting to vote on the first day of early voting in Ohio.

“It’s been a steady stream all day,” said Chuck Miller, director of the board of elections, who noted that 105 people had cast ballots by 3:45 p.m.

He said no one had to wait too long.

“We have three machines, so we can only let three people in the office at one time,” Miller explained.

The board also has received 7,247 requests for absentee ballots, which he described as “a good many.”

During the presidential election four years ago, his office had between 11,000 and 12,000 requests for ballots by the end of the campaign.

On Tuesday, the board of elections mailed out 25 boxes filled with several thousand absentee ballots. Miller said the mailing accounted for about three-fourths of the requests.

A few people standing outside the courthouse to cast their ballots had different reasons for voting early.

Patricia Fitzpatrick of New Philadelphia said she didn’t want to take any chances of not having her votes count.

“I voted today because you never know if you might be sick on Election Day (Nov. 6),” she said. “I really like it and have taken advantage of it before.”

Logistics came into play for Caitlin Zucal of New Philadelphia.

“I’m being relocated to North Carolina because of my job,” she said. “I’ve never voted early before. I thought I would this time since I just have a little bit of time left here before I head to North Carolina.”

The board of elections has a new feature on its website that allows users to determine if they are registered to vote.

Next Tuesday is the deadline to register for the Nov. 6 General Election.

Residents can click on a tab on the left-hand side of the page marked “Am I Registered.” They then can fill in their name, click submit and find out details of their past voting record. The information also includes directions to their polling place.

Another tab allows voters to fill out a request form for an absentee ballot.